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Cathay Pacific faces crisis over Hong Kong ‘permanent isolation’

When the Cathay Pacific carrier was named in December as one of the first Omicron carriers in Hong Kong, it was a fitting end to another stressful year for the airline.

Cathay has been working with 93 percent of the population before the epidemic due to the Hong Kong zero-Covid-19 standards, and the privacy of pilots and colleagues.

Standards set apart The city became extremely active after the Omicron coronavirus introduced new pathogens. Non-citizens from more than 90 countries were denied entry and travelers from the UK and US were detained for 21 days.

Cathay pilots told the Financial Times newspaper that many had resigned in the weeks since November following a well-known civil war. That same month, three pilots who were diagnosed with coronavirus in Hong Kong were fired from their hotel rooms for violating privacy rules during a break in Frankfurt.

As a result of these favorable cases, 130 Cathay pilots staying at the same Frankfurt hotel were forced into a 21-day solitary confinement at Penny’s Bay National Park, near Hong Kong Disneyland.

Many pilots were released within a week after the authorities re-evaluated the situation, but for many, the isolation policy represents a serious problem.

“The boys here are a bit nervous,” said one pilot who had been with the company for more than 15 years and was part of a Frankfurt story.

“Sounds like we’re in a secluded area. There are a lot of pilots right now who are on long-term or sick leave.”

The pilot has landed at least 270 places on the list of flight attendants due to takeoff produced by Swire Group, the British team of Hong Kong.

John Grant, a partner with the UK company Midas Aviation, said Cathay was facing a “long and difficult war.” He added: “It is a pity [its recovery] it is in the hands of the authorities and decisions that will not help them. ”

Cathay’s problems caused the plague. In August 2019, the plane was grounded the biggest pressure is Beijing after his staff took part in protests in Hong Kong. Two years later, Cathay’s chief financial officer Rebecca Sharpe said the plane continued to go through “the most difficult time in our history”.

Speaking in December, Ronald Lam, a senior customer and corporate customer, warned that even if China opened a flight route to Hong Kong, the route would represent only 7 percent of the airline’s port area. making money.

“Some parts of the world are recovering, while Hong Kong is moving in the opposite direction,” said Brendan Sobie, an independent consultant and consultant in Singapore.

Cathay region fighters such as Singapore Airlines have seen a 32 percent increase in the number of victims since November.

The zero-Covid system was stable destroying Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the largest aviation companies in Asia, said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of research at the United States space consulting company Teal Group.

“The real, long-term threat” to Hong Kong’s airlines was the loss of talent and resources, “Aboulafia said. That, he said, would “reduce the size of the city. . . and make businesses go away. “

Cathay’s spokeswoman said the company had “accepted” the privacy laws that pose a risk to its employees. Despite admitting that the idea was “affected” recently, it was unable to provide the number of pilots who resigned last month.

He reiterated the company’s plans to deploy “hundreds of pilots in the coming year,” adding that “there has been a great deal of interest among Hong Kong and international pilots”.

But Cathay pilot, who was forced to live alone in Penny’s Bay last month, doubts the airline could attract new recruits. He said: “I see the whole world moving forward, but I do not see Hong Kong opening up. “It’s not going to be good.”


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